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WiFi smart thermostats have changed how we control our home’s heating and cooling. You can now monitor your home’s climate from anywhere and even change the temperature right from your smartphone.
These smart thermostats can tell when you are home or away and set the temperature accordingly. Some like Nest can even learn from your schedule and set the temperature exactly the way you like it every day.
Because of their smart functionalities there is so much more you can do with your Nest or Ecobee thermostat than just control the temperature at home. By integrating your smart WiFi thermostat to IFTTT (If This Then That) you can enjoy many new functions without having to buy any new hardware.
Here’s how to get started.
Using Your Nest Thermostat With IFTTT
The first thing you should do is link up your Nest and IFTTT accounts.
First make sure you’ve already signed up for IFTTT. Then log into the IFTTT app or on their website and search for Nest Thermostat.
Click on ‘Nest Thermostat’ and then click ‘Connect’ to link IFTTT to your Nest account.
You are now ready to use your Nest thermostat with IFTTT.
What can you do?
Well, anything you want.
There is a list of existing applets or Recipes that you can try out. For instance, you can set up Nest to alert you when it detects motion. This will alert you in case there is an intruder.
If you are a bit of a weather nerd, you can track the highest temperatures recorded by your Nest thermostat on a Google spreadsheet using this applet.
You can also create your own applet that does whatever you want. Just go to ‘My Applets’ and add a new one.
In this case you’ll need to define exactly what the trigger is (the action to look out for) and the action IFTTT should take.
For example you can set IFTTT to notify you via email when your Nest thermostat goes above or below a specific temperature. Or you can set your smart lights to turn blue if Nest detects it’s about to rain.
Visit Nest Thermostat’s channel on IFTTT to get started.
Using Your Ecobee Thermostat with IFTTT
The process is essentially the same if you own an Ecobee smart thermostat.
Once you’ve signed in or created a new IFTTT account search for Ecobee. Or use this link to go directly to their channel.
You will be prompted to link your IFTTT and Ecobee accounts before you can create or use an applet. Once you have connected the two accounts you can select from ready-made applets or create your own.
Here are some of the things you can do with Ecobee and IFTTT.
>> Automatically create a ‘Vacation’ event in your Ecobee when you add a vacation on your calendar. The thermostat will go into vacation mode during that period.
>> Switch the lights on or off at specific times. For instance you can have the thermostat switch lights on at sunset and off when in ‘Away’ mode.
>> Change temperature when the Ecobee detects the outdoor temperature is above or below a set number.
>> Receive a notification when there is a weather change. E.g. when it is about to rain or when summer arrives.
>> Receive a possible fire alert by setting Ecobee to notify you if indoor temperature goes above a certain point which could indicate a fire. There is actually already an applet for that.
Using Your Honeywell Thermostat with IFTTT
You can also use IFTTT if you have a Honeywell thermostat. The details are similar to Ecobee and Nest thermostats. Just link the two accounts then find a Recipe or create your own.
Here’s the channel for Honeywell.
Note: You can turn your applets on or off at any time from the IFTTT app or website. You can also create multiple applets for the same device. For instance one Nest applet can be for notifying you when the weather changes while another alerts you when the thermostat detects motion.
